Police are taking a more proactive approach to combating false claims online as more people turn to social media for information, two longtime communications specialists say.
Ontario Provincial Police in Southwestern Ontario released statements in response to two separate cases of misinformation and disinformation related to the actions of OPP officers in the past week.
Misinformation refers to false or inaccurate information, while disinformation is deliberately created to mislead and manipulate opinion.
Police media offices are being more intentional about countering disinformation, Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police spokesperson Joe Couto said.
“Compared to five years ago, there’s just so much more disinformation,” Couto said, adding police have an obligation to ensure the public has accurate information about law enforcement.
“We depend on the public’s trust and confidence,” he said. “If you don’t address misinformation, it tends to become something of an online fact. It really does damage investigations, court cases and the reputation of the organization.”
The OPP issued a media release Sunday in response to a video circulating on social media about officers visiting a home two days earlier in relation to a family dispute involving a senior in Norwich, a community southwest of Woodstock.
Officers were sent to the home to enforce a court order, but it wasn’t related to Canada’s Medical Assistance in Dying (MAID) legislation, the OPP said.
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